OK, I am doing a draft ballot for the blogpoll, because I need your help here, not having seen most of these teams play.
1. Alabama Crimson Tide
2. LSU Tigers
3. Southern Cal Trojans
4. Florida St. Seminoles
5. Oregon Ducks
I know Michigan was overrated and that Saban teams often play better in showcase games than they're actually capable of playing throughout the season, but it was hard not to be awed with Alabama's performance against Michigan. Things went about like we expected for the Tigers and Trojans. I moved Florida St. up because they didn't disappoint like some of the teams below did. Oregon's offense looked fantastic, but it did give up a lot of points to Guz Malzahn's Arkansas St. team, so I can't really see the Ducks as on a level with the top three.
6. Oklahoma Sooners
7. Clemson Tigers
8. South Carolina Gamecocks
9. Georgia Bulldogs
10. Michigan St. Spartans
Oklahoma was underwhelming but got the job done late against UTEP. I know some of you will hate me for this, but I was impressed by Clemson's offense and thought its offensive line answered some questions. Granted, whether or not Clemson will be able to maintain is always a big question with the Tigers, but based on the results we have so far, I'm impressed. The Gamecocks were underwhelming, but it could have been first-game jitters. Georgia's defense struggled, and they're on upset alert this week. Michigan St. looked good against Boise and looks like the early favorite in the Big 10.
11. Nebraska Cornhuskers
12. Arkansas Razorbacks
13. West Virginia Mountaineers
14. Virginia Tech Hokies
15. Ohio St. Buckeyes
Nebraska impressed me with a dominant win over Southern Miss. Only bad news is that Rex Burkhead sprained his MCL and is questionable for next week. Arkansas and WVU both flexed offensive muscle against their cupcakes, but neither looked great defensively. Virginia Tech just finished off a win over GT in a game where both teams were sloppy. Ohio St. looked solid in Urban Meyer's debut. Don't expect another 6-7 season from this program.
16. Oklahoma St. Cowboys
17. Kansas St. Wildcats
18. Louisville Cardinals
19. Tennessee Volunteers
20. Wisconsin Badgers
OSU, KSU, and Louisville looked good against their cupcakes. (Yes, the Kentucky Wildcats now qualify as "cupcakes.") UT looked improved against N.C. State. Wisconsin drops several spots after narrowly escaping an upset against Northern Iowa.
21. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
22. Texas Longhorns
23. Missouri Tigers
24. TCU Horned Frogs
25. Michigan Wolverines
No strong feelings about any of these teams. ND looked good against Navy, but beating Navy only takes you so far. Texas looked OK against a cupcake, as did Mizzou. TCU hasn't played yet. Michigan got smeared by Alabama, but that probably won't stop them from being a decent team this year.